


After

by WolfandOwl



Series: Criminal Minds/Walking Dead [2]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alexandria Safe-Zone, Blood and Gore, M/M, Spencer Reid is a badass, The Sanctuary, Walkers (Walking Dead)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-08-26 05:17:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16675216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfandOwl/pseuds/WolfandOwl
Summary: This is the sequel to "New Reality".“Run, Spencer! Get out of here!” Dwight shrieked as a hoard of Saviors began to beat him mercilessly.





	1. Guts

“Run, Spencer! Get out of here!” Dwight shrieked as a hoard of Saviors began to beat him mercilessly.  
Just seconds before, an unlucky Savior decided to test one of Spencer’s bullets and lost their hand in the process. In an act of valor, Dwight threw himself into the fight to distract them long enough for Spencer to get away.  
Spencer grabbed the keys to Dwight’s truck from the hook on the wall and sprinted toward the exit, listening as footsteps thundered behind him. The heavy steel doors banged open and sunlight blinded him as Spencer fumbled with the handle of the truck, before yanking it open and climbing inside. The engine started with ease and he sped away from the compound, watching the Saviors scream at him through the rearview mirror. He had to get to Alexandria, for Negan would know about his escape by now, and he was dreadfully vulnerable by himself against the hundreds of armed Saviors. 

*CM*TWD*

Hotch jolted awake when the sound of banging filled the house and travelled up the stairs to his bedroom. Fearing there was trouble, he pulled a shirt on and clomped down the stairs, before pulling the door open. He was greeted by Morgan, who’s eyes were wide as he gasped for breath.  
“There’s someone here you might wanna see,” he panted as he caught his breath.  
Raising an eyebrow, Hotch slid his shoes on and followed Morgan outside, having no idea what to expect. Morgan led him over to a small crowd, and his legs began to shake as he recognized the moppy blonde hair peeking above Rick’s head. He ran forward, pulling Rick out of the way and pulled Spencer into a hug.  
“Where the hell have you been?” Hotch exclaimed. “With Negan?”  
Spencer lowered his eyes, his shoulders drooping with shame. “I’m so sorry, Hotch. I know it seemed like I betrayed you, but I thought I could take the Saviors down from the inside; Negan trusted me”. The sincere look in Spencer’s eyes toppled Aaron’s walls, and he caught his lips in a kiss.  
“It’s alright. Part of me knew that you still loved me, but I just couldn’t believe it when I saw you with Negan”.  
Spencer wrapped his arms around Hotch’s neck and nuzzled into his shoulder. “You have no idea how terrible the Saviors are. They kill anyone who doesn’t follow Negan’s rules, and they take joy in watching them die”.  
Anger bubbled in Hotch’s chest at the fear in Spencer’s voice, but he pushed it down, feeling the need to comfort him. He tucked his nose into Spencer’s hair, smelling sweet lavender, and he smiled. “Did they take care of you?”  
“I was Negan’s property, so yes. The other Saviors knew not to touch me, and they treated me like a king”.  
Hotch growled at the thought of Spencer being owned, but he was glad he had been taken care of. His hands traveled down to Spencer’s hips, and he smirked at the softness he felt there. “They fed you plenty, didn’t they?” He chuckled.  
Spencer pulled away and frowned. “Negan insisted on watching me eat every day, because he said I was too thin. Am I getting fat?” His eyes widened, and he looked down at the slightly puffed plain of his once flat stomach.  
“Of course not,” Hotch whispered. “You’re just healthy. It’s nice to see some meat on your bones”.  
The sudden noise of a throat being cleared brought them out of their stupor, and Hotch glanced up to see Rossi looking at him pointedly. Hotch turned the Spencer and his face became serious once more. “Spencer, JJ went on a run yesterday morning, and she hasn’t come back yet”.  
Fear spread across Spencer’s face and he opened his mouth, but Hotch cut him off.  
“I told her I’d come looking for her if she wasn’t back by sunrise”.  
“I have to go with you,” Spencer stated, crossing his arms.  
Hotch’s brows furrowed. “Are you sure you’re up for it?”  
“I know I am,” Spencer said as he grabbed a shotgun from the bed of Dwight’s truck.  
“Spencer, it won’t be that easy. There’s a massive walker herd blocking the store she’s in. That was her last communication before her walkie went dead. We don’t have enough ammo to get through all of them”.  
A determined look crossed Spencer’s face, and he turned to face the crowd of his friends and family. “I know how we can get to her, but it won’t be pleasant”.

*CM*TWD*

Morgan gagged as the axe came down once more into the walker’s abdomen. “Pretty Boy, are you sure this will work? It seems dangerous to me”.  
Rick laid a hand on his shoulder. “I know it will; this is how Glenn and I got out of Atlanta”.  
Spencer nodded. “Dwight taught me this trick as well, and we would go on runs all the time without the walkers noticing us”. He then dug his hand into the walker’s stomach and rubbed the blood across the coat he was wearing. Hotch, did the same, looking as if he might vomit.  
“Here, get some entrails, too. That makes it more convincing,” Reid stated as he draped some intestines around Hotch’s neck. Hotch closed his eyes, trying to ward off the nausea. He had been around corpses before, but the advanced stench from the rotting walker, mixed with the mold and puss covering its skin, was almost too much.  
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come?” Morgan asked as he handed Hotch a pistol.  
Hotch glanced at him as he holstered the weapon. “I’m sure. Two is enough, and I don’t want to draw too much attention. He and Spencer climbed into the truck and drove through Alexandria’s gates as Daryl opened them.  
After driving along the desolate highway for over an hour, Hotch began to slow the truck as they caught sight of JJ’s car and a herd of walkers banging on the doors of the department store. He quickly turned off the engine and turned to Spencer. “How do we blend in?”  
“Walk like one of them, and groan,” Spencer whispered.  
Hotch raised his eyebrow, but they both quietly climbed from the truck and slowly shambled toward the herd. The first few walkers were easy to slip past, but the group quickly became impenetrable.  
“What do we do?” Spencer hissed, trying not to draw attention to himself.  
Hotch glanced around, before his sight landed on an abandoned car sitting in the parking lot. He gestured towards it, and Spencer nodded, before grabbing a large rock and hurling it at the car. It shattered the windshield, and the shrill alarm blasted through the air.  
Slowly, the walkers turned toward the noise and limped toward the car, banging on the windows and desperately searching for prey to devour. After making sure that they were distracted, Spencer pulled the store’s door open, and was met with a hug from JJ.  
“Oh my god, Spence!” She hissed. “Where have you been all this time?”  
Before he could answer, Hotch grabbed his shoulder and he froze. Icy fear gripped his heart as he realized the car alarm had stopped.


	2. Emperor's New Clothes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hotch is forced to make several hard decisions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Sorry for the long delay. My laptop died on me, so I had to get a new one. RIP

“Shit!” Hotch hissed as he and Spencer scrambled to pull the store’s doors closed. “Is there a lock somewhere?”  
Spencer felt a long the door and shook his head. “The owners must have electronic locks, but it looks like the store hasn’t had power since the dead rose”.  
JJ quickly grabbed one end of a metal shelf and began to push it toward the doors. “Hurry! It will go faster if you help me!”

The shelf began to scrape across the floor as Hotch grabbed the other side and pushed, grunting with the effort. As the shelf crept closer to the doors, Spencer guided it into position, and the three of them pushed it against the door. The herd of walkers began to push against the doors, and the shelf groaned against the weight.  
“Is there another way out?” Spencer asked. “There has to be a back door”.  


Hotch shook his head. “Even if we got out, there’s no way we’d get past the walkers to our car, and it’s too far to walk back to Alexandria”. He was silent for a moment, then slowly met Spencer’s eyes with his own. “I’ll distract them, and you two get to the car”.  
“Aaron, what are you talking about? There’s no way we’d leave you behind!” Spencer cried, grabbing Hotch’s arm.  
“If it means that you would make it home, it’s worth the sacrifice”.  


JJ grabbed Spencer’s shoulder carefully, looking at him in her sisterly way. “Spence, I don’t want him to do it either, but it’s his decision”.  


Tears began to stream down Spencer face as he buried his head in the juncture between Hotch’s neck and shoulder. “You said you’d never leave me,” he whispered, grabbing Hotch’s hand. His head jerked up when a truck horn blared through the parking lot, immediately grabbing the walkers’ attention.  
“What in the hell is that?” JJ asked as she attempted to peak through the store’s window. “Did someone else come with you?”  


Hotch shook his head and stilled when he heard a bang coming from the back of the store. He drew his knife from its holster and approached the back door, prepared to sink the knife into a walker’s rotting skull.  
“Spencer?” A voice hissed, and Hotch cautiously pulled the door open.  
“Jesus, Daryl!” Hotch sighed. “What are you doing here?”  


Daryl looked over Hotch’s shoulder and nodded at Spencer. “Rick told me where ya went, and I figured ya could use some help,” he shrugged. “Come on, that horn’s gonna draw walkers from all around, so we need to get outta here”.  


Hotch nodded and the three of them followed Daryl around the side of the store, and quietly piled into the car. Spencer crawled into the back seat with Hotch, while JJ sat in the passenger seat next to Daryl, and they sped off.  


After a few minutes, Daryl glanced into the rearview mirror at Spencer and furrowed his brow at the sight; Spencer has his face buried in Hotch’s chest and his hands curled in his shirt, while Hotch’s arms draped across Spencer’s back. “Ya alrigh’, Spencer?” Daryl gruffed.  


Spencer nodded, but kept his head buried. Daryl’s eyes traveled over to Hotch’s questioningly. “I was prepared to sacrifice myself so that he and JJ could escape,” Hotch sighed.  


Daryl nodded knowingly. “I woulda done the same”.  
  
CM

  


As the car pulled up to the gates of Alexandria, Spencer’s heart dropped when he saw a familiar brigade of truck parked along the wall. “Shit, Negan’s here,” he gulped.  


Hotch’s eyes narrowed and he flung the car door open, marching toward the gates and waiting as Rick opened them. “Where’s Negan?” He growled, and Rick silently gestured toward the armory, not wanting to alarm any of the Saviors.  


Spencer quickly followed after Hotch but stopped when he saw the burning fury in his eyes. Negan looked up as Hotch approached and flashed a wolfish grin. “Aaron, I’m glad you could finally make an appearance!”  


Hotch glanced around, only seeing two other Saviors: Simon and Arat, and the Alexandrians could easily overpower them. Negan opened his mouth to speak again, but his eyes widened in surprise when a sharp pain erupted across his throat, and he began to choke on his own blood.  


Hotch’s hand shook as he dropped the bloodly knife to the ground.  
“What the fuck?!” Simon roared as he began to sprint toward Hotch, but as tackled by Daryl. Arat screamed and kicked as Morgan held her, and Spencer stared at Hotch with wide eyes.  
“You son of a bitch,” Negan gargled as he held his hand against his throat.  


Hotch barely registered Rick running forward with Denise, a recent addition to their group who had medical training. “Save him!” Rick hissed, and Denise approached Negan, yelling at Eric to get a stretcher.  
“What are you doing?” Morgan shouted. “That piece of shit isn’t worth saving”.  


Rick stared at him. “He’ll be in a cell for the rest of his life, and we’ll make him watch as we rebuild, knowing that the world didn’t need him to survive”.  


Hotch glanced up when he felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Spencer staring at him with misty eyes. “Why did you do it? I’m not upset, I’m just trying to understand”.  
“I couldn’t go on seeing him every week, knowing what he did to you. He deserves to suffer, just like he’s done to so many others”.  


Spencer smiled and kissed Hotch gently, rubbing his shoulders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm having a bad flare up of carpal tunnel, so the chapters will be short for a while.


End file.
